CHEYENNE – This year, nearly $70,000 was given back to residents from across Laramie County as part of the annual Community Christmas fundraiser.
Gift cards, pre-loaded with $70, were distributed to 700 qualified applicants Friday in Cheyenne. Volunteers in Pine Bluffs and Albin also handed out cards to a total of about 1,000 people across the county.
“To see the joy on their faces when you hand them the card, you know, they’re going through a hard time, and just this simple monetary donation to them just makes their holiday,” said Tony Janssen, chairman of Laramie County Community Christmas. “And that’s really what gives you a great feeling in your heart, for all our guys and girls who do this.”
Janssen was joined by several other volunteers at American Legion Post 6 on Friday to help distribute the cards.
Community members who called to apply for a $70 card were eligible based on their income and the number of people in their household. Janssen said they were able to get cards to most people who called this year.
On Friday, these qualified individuals pulled up in their car in front of the building and presented the card they had received in the mail, noting that they had been approved for a gift card and also presented their ID to confirm their identity.
As they drove up to the building, volunteers from the FE Warren Air Force Base 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle mechanic team greeted them and brought in the documents to verify they were on the list.
The volunteers inside, also from the 90th LRS, were joined by Dora Jones, who has been volunteering with this program for approximately 30 years.
“This program is about the unfortunate ones who cannot have a good Christmas and holidays,” she said. “And so we like to do this, you know, because it’s for God’s people, and that’s why we all like to volunteer.”
Janssen said Jones also answers the phone line for those who call to apply for a card and helps collect donations from local businesses.
“She is exactly the kind of giving woman who makes this community strong. She is all about community,” Janssen said of Jones.
Funds for the program are raised through the Bar Bucks program and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s Empty Stocking Fund. Last year’s fundraisers raised $59,528 and $9,527 respectively, with the former an all-time high for Bar Bucks.
Bar Bucks is working with bars and taverns across the province to collect donations to support the Community Christmas program. There were approximately 40 participating locations in the province this year. Money for the Empty Stocking Fund is raised through online donations and mail-in donations to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Last year, Bar Bucks’ largest donor was Alf’s Pub & Package, which has raised nearly $35,000 over the past two years. In second place was American Legion Post 6 with $9,282, followed by Pine Bluffs Distilling with $8,331.
These donations are used to purchase grocery gift cards that people can spend at Albertsons or Safeway, but some are more localized to their communities. For example, applicants from Pine Bluffs or Albin will receive cards to use at their local grocery stores.
Janssen has been leading the program for about eight years, but has been working with Bar Bucks since 2001. In that time, Bar Bucks alone has raised over $600,000 in donations.
Luis Fernandez, a volunteer with the 90th LRS, said handing out the cards to community members is a nice break from his typical work day of tinkering with a vehicle.
“It’s cool to see the diversity you have here in such a small town,” he said. “It’s crazy how they’re struggling, right? But I mean, we’re here to support and do our best. I mean, it’s not a lot of money that we’re giving out, but it’s something that at least allows them to have one meal for them.
Xoria Gatlin, another volunteer from the 90th LRS, said she enjoyed volunteering because she could see how much it meant to the community members who received the cards.
“It’s like a heartfelt moment. It makes you appreciate what you have,” she says. ‘For example, I have seen people come in here and stand on the sidelines crying, and they are very grateful. And it’s a moment when you give something back to people who really, really need it. … There aren’t many communities doing this kind of thing.”
